Nicolas Vanier

About Nicolas Vanier

Nicolas Vanier was born in 1962 in Senegal. He completed most of his studies in Saint Germain en Laye. Passionate about the Far North since adolescence, he began his expeditions in the 1980s by crossing Lapland on foot (1982) and then the Quebec Far North following the trails of the Montagnais Indians (1983). Next, he traversed the New Quebec-Labrador Peninsula with dog sleds. This expedition is the subject of his first book, Grand Nord and a television documentary.

In the late 80s, it was the turn of the Rockies and Alaska. Conducted using the traditional means of transportation of these regions, the expedition was done on horseback, on foot, by canoe and raft, and then by sled with dogs.

In 1990, he undertook the crossing of Siberia, starting from Mongolia to reach the Arctic Ocean, for an expedition of 7,000 kilometers. For this extreme journey, once again horses, ponies, dog sleds, reindeer, and canoes were used for transportation.

After participating in the Yukon Quest sled dog race, reputed to be the most difficult in the world, he completed the Odyssée blanche in 1999, a journey of 8,600 kilometers. He left Skagway in Alaska and arrived in Quebec less than 100 days later. During this journey, he met Norman Winther, who would later appear in his film The Last Trapper (2004).